Other View: Stop the new fees at Cal State

After seeing their tuition nearly double over the last few years, California State University students were spared even more devastating increases by the passage of Proposition 30. But the votes on the tax measure had barely been counted when Cal State officials proposed a new set of fees, saying, even as they did so, that they weren't trying to raise more money so much as change student behavior. If that's true, there are more effective ways to achieve their goals. The proposal comes before the trustees' finance committee on Tuesday and is scheduled for consideration by the full board Wednesday, but trustees should swiftly reject the existing proposal and order it revamped.

The biggest of the new fees, $372 per unit, would be levied on students who already have earned more college credits than they need to graduate. More moderate amounts would be charged to students who repeat a class, often to earn a better grade, and those who take an extra-heavy course load.

It's all for a valid reason: Cal State wants to keep students from overusing university resources so that other students have a fairer shot at getting a Cal State education. Students who stay on at college long after they should have received a degree - about 9,000 would be affected by that fee - take space in taxpayer-subsidized classes that are needed by new students. The same is true for those who repeat a class.

But the proposal is unfair because students with money would still be able to take excess classes; the only people affected would be those who can't afford to do otherwise.

California's community college system has devised a better policy: It places students who have completed requirements for graduation at the bottom of the registration priority list - a policy that would also work for students who want to repeat a class. All other students, including the newest ones, have first crack at enrolling.

There is a different financial penalty Cal State could impose fairly: It could withdraw financial aid from students who pay no tuition whatsoever and who have taken more than their share of classes. Otherwise, those students have no incentive to leave, and surely taxpayers never meant for the largesse to go on forever for each student. But the money should be withdrawn only if Cal State has provided the super-seniors with the courses they needed for their majors or for graduate school - there's been a shortage in recent years - and allowed them to double major or pursue majors that have higher credit requirements. Nothing in the policy appears to address this these issues.

As for heavy course loads, Cal State should impose a penalty only when students drop an extra course, not when they sign up for it. Otherwise, ambitious students who want to finish early would be deterred. The timing of this proposal, just days after voters approved a tax increase, seems suspicious. If this isn't about the money, then to the extent possible, Cal State shouldn't make it be about the money.

(c) Los Angeles Times

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Other View: Stop the new fees at Cal State

After seeing their tuition nearly double over the last few years, California State University students were spared even more devastating increases by the passage of Proposition 30.